Lebanese leaders indirectly urge Hezbollah to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's president and prime minister said Monday that their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.
Their remarks amounted to a message to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group — an ally of both Iran and the Palestinian militant Hamas group in Gaza — to stay out of the fray.
Hezbollah, which launched its own strikes on Israel a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has been hard-hit and suffered significant losses on the battlefield until a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last November ended the 14 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Earlier this year, Hamas fighters inside Lebanon fired rockets from Lebanese soil, drawing Israeli airstrikes and leading to arrests of Hamas members by Lebanese authorities.
The Hezbollah-Israel war left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction worth $11 billions; Hezbollah was pushed away from areas bordering Israel in south Lebanon. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke during a Cabinet meeting Monday that also discussed the Iran-Israel conflict and the spike in regional tensions over the past four days.
Information Minister Paul Morkos later told reporters that Aoun urged all sides in Lebanon to maintain calm and preserve the country's stability. For his part, Salam said Lebanon should not be involved in 'any form in the war," Morkos added.
Hezbollah, funded and armed by Iran, has long been considered Tehran's most powerful ally in the region but its latest war with Israel also saw much of Hezbollah's political and military leadership killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Since Israel on Friday launched strikes targeting Iran's nuclear program and top military leaders, drawing Iran's retaliatory ballistic missiles at Israel, the back-and-forth has raised concerns that the region, already on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, would be plunged into even greater upheaval.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
31 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Where the Israel-Iran Conflict Goes From Here
By and David Fox Save Never miss an episode. Follow The Big Take daily podcast today. Conflict between Iran and Israel has been simmering for decades — but escalated rapidly in the last few days after Israel bombed key nuclear facilities in Iran.
The Hill
31 minutes ago
- The Hill
Hegseth orders ‘additional capabilities' to Middle East
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that he has directed 'the deployment of additional capabilities' to the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region. 'Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,' Hegseth said in a post to X. He did not name the additional capabilities, though earlier on Monday a U.S. official confirmed to NewsNation, The Hill's sister network, that the U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling tanker aircraft to Europe. The move is intended to 'provide options' to Trump amid the escalating tensions, the official added. Pentagon and White House officials have declined to say how many aircraft have been moved, but the flight tracking website AirNav systems counted more than 31 Air Force refueling aircraft such as KC-135s and KC-46s leaving the United States on Sunday and flying east. The military flights eventually landed at Ramstein air base in Germany and in the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Greece, according to the website. Multiple outlets also have reported that USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is on its way to the Middle East as part of a pre-planned deployment – though the action has been expedited. The vessel is able to hold some 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets. The Pentagon and White House did not respond to questions from The Hill. The shifted U.S. military assets and personnel comes as the conflict between Israel and Iran has entered its fourth day, with both sides intensifying their assaults following Israel's initial strike on Tehran on Friday. Israel and Iran have taken part in tit-for-tat attacks, open warfare that Israeli officials have said could last 'weeks, not days' and threatens to spark a wider war in the Middle East. Israel last week moved forward with its strikes after accusing Iran of being on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Since then, the two sides have traded large scale missile attacks back and forth in what has become the deadliest confrontation between the countries, with at least 24 people killed in Israel and more than 220 killed in Iran. White House and Israeli officials have said Israel began the strikes after approval from the U.S. – which has helped defend Israel from Iranian-fired missiles. But even as President Trump has voiced support for Israel, he appears wary of any U.S. involvement in its conflict. The president on Monday sidestepped a question as to what it would take for the U.S. military to get involved, telling reporters: 'I don't want to talk about that.' He also urged Tehran to return to talks with the U.S. over its nuclear program 'before it's too late.' 'They should talk, and they should talk immediately,' he said while attending an annual meeting of top western leaders in Canada. Trump a day prior on Sunday said the United States is not involved in Israel's strikes against Iran, but 'it's possible we could get involved.' He also has made clear Washington's support for Israel, warning that 'if we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.' Israel, meanwhile, had reportedly urged Washington to help it in eliminating Iran's nuclear program, with its targets including energy installations, missile sites, nuclear infrastructure, command centers and Iran's state television station. 'We're not involved in it. It's possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,' Trump told ABC News' Rachel Scott. The U.S. military already has a large footprint in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops, air defense systems, fighter aircraft and ships.
The Hill
36 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump urges immediate evacuation of Tehran
President Trump on Monday warned that those in Tehran should 'immediately evacuate' as he lamented Iran's decision not to sign an agreement with the United States limiting its nuclear program. 'Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!' Trump's warnings echo those earlier in the day from Israeli officials, who urged hundreds of thousands of people in the Iranian capital to evacuate ahead of strikes in its escalating military campaign against Iran. Israel and Iran exchanged strikes for the fourth consecutive day conflict broke out last week when Israeli missile strikes targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and killed multiple top military leaders. Trump has been peppered with questions in the days since about potential U.S. involvement in the conflict. While the Trump administration said Israel's initial strikes were a unilateral action, the U.S. assisted Israel in intercepting retaliatory strikes from Iran last Friday. Trump sidestepped a question earlier Monday on what it would take for the U.S. military to get involved. 'I don't want to talk about that,' he told reporters on his first day of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Alberta.
